Work wheel



April 29, 1952 F. E. HENDRlcKsoN 2,594,647

` WORK WHEEL Filed Aug. 2, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. FRITZ E. HENDR I CKSON BY JWM AT T'Y April 29, 1952 F. E. HENDRlcKsoN WORK WHEEL Filed Aug. 2. 1947 ./log

IN VEN TOR. FRITZ HENDRICKSON April 29, 1952 F. E. HENDRlcKsoN 2,594,647

WORK WHEEL Filed Aug. 2, 1947 s sheets-sheet s W INVENTOR.

j FRITZ E. HENDRICKSON Patented Apr. 29, 1952 WORK WHEEL Fritz E. Hendrickson, South Elgin, Ill., assigner of forty per cent to Bror G. Olving, Elgin, Ill.

Application August 2, 1947, Serial No. 765,717

My invention relates to polishing and bufng machines and more particularly to means for polishing and buing articles of various kinds by the use of a polishing belt.

An object of my invention is to provide a work supporting pulley for a polishing belt of a more or less deformable nature, which is so constructed that it will be fully yieldable to give flexibility to the polishing belt at the point of polishing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a work-wheel that shall be well ventilated and tend to keep down the temperature of the workwheel, the belt and of the work.

Another object of my invention is to provide :a polishing and buffng machine having operatively associated therewith cooling fans to keep down the operating temperature ofthe work-wheel, beltand of the work. i'

Another object of my invention is to provide a perforated polishing belt.

Another object of my invention is to provide a work-wheel that shall be characterized by its ability to produce currents of cleaning and cooling air issuing from its peripheral surface and flowing through the polishing belt.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple construction of buing or polishing machine that shall be capable of providing a better polish than heretofore possible.

Other objects of my invention will either be apparent from `a description of devices embodying my invention or will be pointed out in the course of such description rand set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is. a, view in side elevation of one form of polishing machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a polishing wheel taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 14,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a section of my work wheel,

Fig. 5 is a top plan View of the section of Fig. i

v lpartly folded,

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a section completely folded,

Fig. 7 is a top plan view showing the section of Fig. 6 with the outer portions stitched together,

Fig. 8 is a View in side elevation of the section shown in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line lul-40 of Fig. 5. v

2 Claims. (Cl. 51-135) Fig. l1 is an end view of the section shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line I2-l2 of Fig. 14,

Fig. 13 is a front elevational view of Fig. 14,

Fig. 14 is a side elevational view of a bufng wheel embodying my invention,

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary view of one form of perforated abrasive belt,

Fig. 16 is a side elevational view showing a modified form of bufling machine having air impellers mounted on the shaft of the workwheel.,

Fig. 1'7 is a'front elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 16,

Fig. 18 is a View, in side elevation, showing a still further modification using compressed air for cooling the polishing belt, the Work-wheel and the work, and,

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary view of the surface of Fig. 3.

Referring first of all to Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have there shown a bufling or polishing machine designated generally by the numeral 2l, which comprises a skeleton frame 23 which may comprise a, plurality of angle bar members connected together to form a front support 24 and a horizontal support 25. which may be connected together as by struts 21.

I provide an electric motor 2B which may be supported on the horizontal platform 25 as by a base 3|. While I have shown a specific form of base, I do not desire to be limited thereto and it is to be understood that means may be provided to permit of varying the position of electric motor 29 on the base in order to take up the belt. I provide a pair of rotatable guide wheels 33 and 35 of which guide wheel 33 is fixedly supl ported as by a pair of bearing brackets 3i, the

wheel of pulley 33 being mounted on a shaft 39. The pulley 35 is supported by a short shaft 4l which is supported by a double lever arm 43 which is pivotally supported on a xed shaft 45 supported by one of the front angle bars 24. A coil spring 41 is connected to the inner end of. one

Aarm of lever arm 43 while the other end of spring 1 pulleys 33 and 35. An abrasive or polishing belt 5] is adapted to be driven by a pulley 53 mounted. 'on the shaft of motor 23 and extends' around the.

3 two guide pulleys 33 and 35 as well as the workwheel 5 I.

I do not desire to be limited to the positions of the various parts of the machine shown in Fig. 1, since other positions may be occupied by the various parts.

Referring now to Figs. 3 to 14 inclusive, I have there shown one form of work wheel which may be constructed as follows. I provide a plurality of individual flexible plies 50 of cloth and of a substantially circular or oval shape, each ply being provided with a central opening 6| extending along the longer diameter of the plies. I may use from five to ten plies of cotton cloth. I provide further a plurality of seams 53 extending across the set of plies and while I have shown a specific location for the individual seams I do not desire to be limited thereto since minor changes may be made in the location of the seams and still obtain the desired results. I provide an additional or strengthening member 65 which may be made of heavier cloth than are the plies 60, such as heavy duck, and hold the same in place as by a pair of longitudinally extending seams 6l.

Each set of plies Sii are then folded along a median line S9 when the plies .6d will have the shape as shown in Fig. 50i the drawings. I then take and fold inwardly the intermediate parts of the end portions of the plies 60 until they occupy a position substantially as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. I then provide seams 1|, one adjacent each of the return or inwardly-bent end portions so that the shape of the set of plies 6U is as shown in Fig. 7.

I then mount, say, six sections of plies SE1, folded as shown vin, Figs. '7 and 8, on apair of hooks '53, which may be integral with metallic discs 'I5 and Tl. Each of said discs is provided with a plurality of hook-shaped ends 73 which are bent out of the plane of the discs l5 and 'il' so that when the sections Ell have been mounted in proper operative positions on said pairs of hooks 13, the hooks may be forced apart from each other peripherally, the hook ends overhanging the walls of opening 5| so that each of the sections will be held in proper operative and desired positions on the discs l5 and ll, which discs are adapted to be mounted on a drive shaft ":9, (Fig. 3). I may also mount the sections when folded as shown in Figs. 5 and 10, and nd that the flexible plies will take the shape shown in Fig. 19, there being a small space between each two adjacent sides of the sections as indicated by 89 in Figs. 3 and 19.

This drive shaft '19 is provided with an inner clamping disc 3| and spacing members 83 are placed between each two adjacent pairs of discs l5 and 11 having mounted thereon the sections 60. An outer clamping disc 85 is held in tightly clamping position as by a nut 8l having screwthreaded engagement with the cuter screwthreaded end of shaft 19.

The outside discs 8| and 85 may have air inlet openings 8S provided thereinpwhile the discs 75 and 'IT may also have openings Vtherein to permit distribution of air to all channels 80 between the various sections. This will allow ya large volume of air to be moved through said channels and to issue from the multitude of openings in the circumferential face of the work Wheel.

The construction of my improved work wheel is preferably such that itl has some inherent stabili-ty :hat 1.'Qieii-11g,..\'-hihincreases when 4 in rotation. I have found that belt supporting work wheels heretofore used permit the belt to leave it as soon as the belt is started, but with my improved work wheel the belt will not run off the work wheel when being started.

Referring now to Fig. 18 of the drawings I have there shown a wol-lr wheel 5| and two guide pulleys 33 and 35 with a motor-driven polishing belt 5l passing thereover. I have further shown two air supply ducts 89 and 9| which are so positioned that air flowing through duet 89 will impinge on the outer surface of work-supporting wheel 5|, striking the outer surface of wheel 5| just before it meets with the belt 51. The air from duct or pipe 9| is adapted to meet the outer surface of belt 5l just at the point where a piece of work 93 is held against belt E?. The pipes `or ducts 89 and .7| may be provided with cold air from any suitable source and at any suitable pressure. The air from duct 83 may also impinge against the inside Surface of belt 57.

eferring now to Figs. 15 and 17 I have there shown an abrasive belt 5'! driven by a motor 25, the belt running over pulleys 33 and 35 as well as over a work wheel 5i. I have further shown that the work wheel 5| is mounted on a shaft S5, supported as by a plurality of bearing brackets Sl, there being air inipellers mounted on the outer end portions of shaft 9:5. One air impeller 99 is adapted to force air against the outer surface or" belt 57 through a bent conduit IGS while the second iinpeller |i3| is adapted to force air against the inner surface of the belt through abent conduit |82, impeller 93 therefore doing substantially the same thing as is done by pipe 9| while iinpeller |0| does substantially the same thing as is done by pipe S9.. Air impellers 89 and are provided with air-moving blades |03 or by any other suitable means for forcing air lto enter the impellers in an axially .inwardly extending duct and is then forced out of the pipes shown in Figs. 16 and 17.

Fig. 15 shows one form which the abrasive belt 51 may take. Ils shown in Fig. 15, this belt |05 is provided with a plurality of relatively small openings |01. These openings iSl' will have the effect of permitting air fromy say, pipe -89 or from impeller Il! to strike the periphery of work wheel 5| and the inner surface of belt |05 and then to permit a part of the air to flow outwardly through the openings ill? Ain the belt. The air flowing through pipe 9| or through impeller 99 will do the same except that it will flow inwardly through the openings |57.

I have found by tests on work wheels constructed as'shown in Figs. e to 14 inclusive that they have several important ladvantages over wheels used at present in the art. One of vthese advantages is that the wheel is inherently selfventilating and that therefore the temperature at which it operates will be much lower than is the case at present. Fig. 1.9 shows the shape which will be assumed by the outer part of the sections when running at operative speed where the sections are subject to centrifugal force. It is evident that therewill be spaces between the sides of adjacent sections with the cooling air flowing radially outwardly because of the fan action of the parts of the sections extending axially of the wheel. This cooling air will also clean the polishing belt as well as the work wheel sections, since it is drawn from the space surrounding the work wheel and forced therethrough.` This has the effect of vgiving a longer life to the work wheel than would Aotherwise .be

the case, as well as maintaining the temperature of the work at a much lower value than with other work wheels now in use.

I have said that it is advisable that all the cloth segments have some inherent stability when at rest and since they are subjected to centrifugal force when running, this stability is greatly increased when the work wheel is rotated. I further make the length of the hook portions 13 greater than the thickness of the plies so that the plies 5| may be forced inwardly against the outer peripheral part of discs 15 and 11 while the machine is at rest by the pressure of the belt 51 against the sections 60 during the slowing down of the wheel but will be forced outwardly against the adjustable` belt 51 while in operation. I have found that it is best to provide the work wheel with a certain amount of inherent stability, this inherent stability of the work wheel being of great advantage in holding the belt on the work wheel.

As a result of work with and on my invention I have found that the soft backing provided by the work wheel results in a finer nish on any kind of metal which is polished by a machine embodying my invention. Generally speaking a softer backing for a polishing belt gives a ner nish. The construction of the work wheel and particularly of the individual sections, so that each individual section will have a softer inter- Y mediate portion and two relatively harder end portions, tends to provide the belt with a soft backing.

The fact that the hook members 13 on discs 15 and 11 are longer than the thickness of the assembled plies 60 permits of radial movement of the plies, outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force and radially inwardly when it is not operating and particularly when said belt is subject to pressure from a piece of work 93 being polished. The operator is able to detect a whipping action or movement beneath the belt and the fact of the variation of softness of each individual section, as well as the looseness of mounting of each section on the hooks is, in my opinion, the explanation.

I have found that with a polishing wheel it is possible to press a piece of work, such as a thin sheet of metal, against a wheel so that the work will become discolored because of excessive friction. When using my improved work wheel I am of the opinion that the flow of cooling air is substantially that shown by the curved lines |09 in Fig. 12, the air entering at points III of Fig. 14 and then flowing out radially as shown by lines |09 of Fig. 12. If now there is added the forced ventilation shown in Figs. 16, 17 and 18, the tem-Y ited thereto as the machine will work satisfactorily and produce a superior nish when using any type of self-ventilated and self cooling work Wheel capable of producing the required cooling of the belt and of the work.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 657,804, filed March 28, 1946, now abandoned.

Various modications may be made in the device embodied in my application without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and all such modications coming clearly Within the appended claims may be considered a part of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. A polishing machine comprising an endless polishing belt, a pair of pulleys around which said belt passes, a self-ventilated belt-backing work wheel comprising a solid central portion and a flexible outer portion, air impellers secured one to each side of said solid central portion and air outlet means for said impellers for forcing cooling air into the contact area between the work and the polishing belt and between the polishing belt and the workwheel.

2. A polishing machine comprising an endless polishing belt, a plurality of pulleys around which said belt passes, one of said pulleys constituting a belt-backing workwheel and having therein airentrance openings near the hub and internal passages extending therefrom to the circumferential surface for conducting air to the circumferential surface and to the belt, said belt having openings therethrough to permit air to pass therethrough to a work piece applied to said belt, whereby such air may cool said wheel, said belt, and the Work piece.

FRITZ E. HENDRICKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 1 Date 550,062 Webster Nov. 19, 1895 551,019 Webster Dec. 10, 1895 573,734 Webster Dec. 22, 1896 804,514 Wysong Nov. 14, 1905 1,744,807 Schulte Jan. 28, 1930 1,791,917 Winsor Feb. l0, 1931 2,122,609 Hendrickson July 5, 1938 2,139,406 Giles Dec. 6, 1938 2,140,208 Murray Dec. 13, 1938 2,168,871 Hague Aug. 8, 1939 2,188,375 Sayers Jan. 30, 1940 2,236,444 Peterson et al Mar. 25, 1941 2,280,399 Garling Apr. 21, 1942 2,296,990 Fowler Sept. 29, 1942 2,330,208 Fay Sept. 28, 1943 2,378,643 Losey June 19, 1945 2,415,947 Hendrickson Feb. 18, 1947 

